The future is shaped by technology, but technology is shaped by us.

This Month’s Episode

The Art that Launched a Thousand Rockets

3.04 | 05.14.19

The adjective “visionary” gets thrown around a lot, but it’s literally true of Chesley Bonestell and Arthur Radebaugh, the two illustrators featured in this week’s episode. Both used their visual imaginations and their artistic talent to bring engaging, influential depictions of human space exploration and our high-tech future to magazine and newspaper readers in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. And both are the subjects of recent documentary films. READ MORE

From the Extras Section

In this bonus audio file, hear my full interview with Tamar Avishai, producer and host of the art history podcast The Lonely Palette, about Facebook and the role it plays in her life. Tamar—a frequest guest of the show, and my fellow co-founder at the Hub & Spoke audio collective—stands out from the other guests who contributed to Episode 3.03, A Future Without Facebook, in that she has no plans to leave Facebook, and she's totally at peace with her decision to stay.

I’m pleased to announce that in addition to producing Soonish, I’m now writing a monthly column for Scientific American, the nation’s oldest contnuously published magazine (launched in 1845). The column is called “Ventures,” and debuted in the …

Mar 21, 2019

New to Soonish? Start Here

When Minds and Machines Converge

3.01 | 10.01.18

Can thought-power control the world outside our heads? Thanks to new brain-machine interface technology, the answer is yes. But the real question is whether it can it help us control the world inside our heads. READ MORE

The Future is Clear

2.07 | 02.27.18

What's ubiquitous but invisible, versatile yet temperamental, goopy when it's hot yet brittle when it's cold, as old as civilization yet as new as the screen of your smartphone? The answer is glass. READ MORE

Looking Virtual Reality in the Eye

2.06 | 01.05.18

The immersive, 3D environments of virtual reality aren’t science fiction any more, and they aren’t just for video games. In this episode we visit “The Enemy,” a groundbreaking VR exhibit about the psychology of war. READ MORE

Monorails: Trains of Tomorrow?

1.02 | 1.25.17

Monorails have big advantages over competing forms of mass transit, such as buses, subways, and light rail—so why are new monorail systems being built everywhere in the world except the United States? READ MORE

How ‘2001’ Got the Future So Wrong

1.01 | 1.11.17

‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ now celebrating its 50th anniversary, was Hollywood’s most famous exercise in futurism. But by the time the actual year 2001 rolled around, only a few of Stanley Kubrick’s predictions had come true. Why not? READ MORE

Soonish takes its listeners ‘places where the future is crossing into the present,’ investigating how emerging technologies and trends are impacting our lives today — very up our alley. 

— HUBweek Boston

Wade’s storytelling is so precise and thoughtful that you can just tell the guy has a PhD from MIT. It truly feels like he’s on an epic quest to discover the future and I’m along for the ride. You will literally be smarter just by listening!

— Alex Birch, PRX

Soonish is a fascinating podcast about the future, technology, and the people shaping both. Every episode is a welcome infusion of informed optimism.

— David Assaf IV, listener

Soonish is a proud founding member of Hub & Spoke, a collective of smart, independent, idea-driven podcasts. Check out all of the Hub & Spoke shows: